The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia REPORT ON THE 2003 BUDGET CONSULTATION PROCESS SELECT STANDING COMMITTEE ON FINANCE AND G OVERNMENT SERVICES 2002 Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data British Columbia. Legislative Assembly. Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services. Report on the 2003 budget consultation process First report for the 3rd Session, 37th Parliament. Cf. Covering letter. Submitted to Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. Cf. Covering letter. ISBN 0-7726-4877-8 1. Finance, Public - British Columbia - Public opinion. 2. Fiscal policy - British Columbia - Public opinion. 3. Budget - British Columbia – Public opinion. 4. Budget - British Columbia. I. Title. HJ2056.5.B7B74 2002 336.711 C2002-960250-5 Office of the Clerk of Committees SELECT STANDING COMMITTEE ON FINANCE AND GOVERNMENT SERVICES Location: Room 224, Parliament Buildings Victoria, British Columbia V8V 1X4 Telephone: (250) 356-2933 Toll free at: 1-877-428-8337 Fax: (250) 356-8172 Email: [email protected] Internet Homepage: This report and others are available at our Internet Homepage which also contains further information about this and other Select Standing and Special Committees: http://www.legis.gov.bc.ca/cmt November 14, 2002 To the Honourable, The Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia Victoria, British Columbia Honourable Members: I have the honour to present herewith the First Report of the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services for the Third Session of the Thirty-Seventh Parliament. The First Report covers the work of the Committee on the matter of the 2003 Budget Consultation Process. Respectfully submitted on behalf of the Committee. Mr. Blair Lekstrom, MLA Chair TABLE OF CONTENTS Composition of the Committee ........................................................................................................ i Terms of Reference .......................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... iii Introduction..................................................................................................................................... 1 Summary of Consultation Process.................................................................................................... 1 The Public’s Response to the Fiscal Plan .......................................................................................... 2 The Public’s Priorities for the Next Three Budgets........................................................................... 6 The Public’s Ideas on how to Generate Revenue ............................................................................ 11 Conclusions and Recommendations............................................................................................... 13 Appendix 1 – Schedule of Meetings ...............................................................................................14 Appendix 2 – Organizations Taking Part in the 2003 Budget Consultation Process....................... 15 Appendix 3 – Witness List ............................................................................................................. 20 COMPOSITION OF THE COMMITTEE M EMBERS Blair Lekstrom, MLA Chair Peace River South Ida Chong, MLA Deputy Chair Oak Bay-Gordon Head Harry Bloy, MLA Burquitlam Jeff Bray, MLA Victoria-Beacon Hill Arnie Hamilton, MLA Esquimalt-Metchosin Brian Kerr, MLA Malahat-Juan de Fuca Joy MacPhail, MLA Vancouver-Hastings Lorne Mayencourt, MLA Vancouver-Burrard Sheila Orr, MLA Victoria-Hillside Ralph Sultan, MLA West Vancouver-Capilano Patrick Wong, MLA Vancouver-Kensington C LERK TO THE C OMMITTEE Craig James, Clerk of Committees and Clerk Assistant C OMMITTEE R ESEARCHERS Josie Schofield, Research Analyst Audrey Chan, Assistant Researcher BUDGET 2003 CONSULTATION PROCESS i TERMS OF REFERENCE On May 30, 2002, the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services was empowered to examine, inquire into and make recommendations with respect to the pre-budget consultation report prepared by the Minister of Finance in accordance with section 2 of the Budget Transparency and Accountability Act and, in particular, to: 1. Conduct public consultations across British Columbia on proposals and recommendations regarding the provincial budget and fiscal policy for the coming fiscal year by any means the committee considers appropriate, including but not limited to public meetings, telephone and electronic means; 2. Prepare a report no later than November 15, 2002 on the results of those consultations. In addition to the powers previously conferred upon the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services, the committee shall be empowered: (a) to appoint of their number one or more subcommittees and refer to such subcommittees any of the matters referred to the committee; (b) to sit during a period in which the House is adjourned and during any sitting of the House; (c) to adjourn from place to place as may be convenient; and (d) to retain personnel as required to assist the committee; and shall report to the House as soon as possible, or following any adjournment or at the next following session, as the case may be, to deposit the original of its reports with the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly during a period of adjournment and upon resumption of the sittings of the House, the Chair shall present all reports to the Legislative Assembly. ii BUDGET 2003 CONSULTATION PROCESS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Committee would like to thank all the citizens of British Columbia who took the time from their busy lives to participate in the 2003 Budget consultation process. We appreciated the effort the public made to study the pre-budget briefing materials, to attend and listen to the testimony, and to air their views. The Committee was also continually impressed by the depth and quality of the oral and written submissions. Our mandate was to listen to what British Columbians had to say about the government’s fiscal plan for the next three years. For us, the process of hearing and reading what people had to say has been an enjoyable and valuable learning experience. The unsung heroes of the Committee’s public hearing process included the staff of Hansard Services who produce the transcripts of all the Committee’s meetings. We would like to thank in particular the seven console operators who traveled with us to the 13 public hearings — Catherine Schaefer, Marilyn Pollard, Jane Berry, Lisa Coburn, Wendy Collison, Amanda Heffelfinger and Virginia Garrow. The Committee also wishes to give a huge thanks to the staff in the Office of the Clerk of Committees. Mary Newell and Pamela Grant did an unbelievably good job of organizing our hectic tour across the province. Last, but certainly not least, we would like to acknowledge the contributions of Josie Schofield and Audrey Chan, who were involved throughout all stages of the Committee’s work and who provided invaluable administrative and research support. BUDGET 2003 CONSULTATION PROCESS iii INTRODUCTION The report on the 2003 Budget consultation process is divided into four parts. It begins with a summary of the consultation process. The next section provides a summary of the public’s response to the fiscal plan. Then, the focus shifts to the public’s priorities for the next three budgets and their ideas about how to generate revenue. The final section of the report contains the Finance Committee’s general conclusions and recommendations. SUMMARY OF CONSULTATION PROCESS Since 2000 the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services has conducted provincewide pre-budget consultations on an annual basis in accordance with the requirements of the original and amended Budget Transparency and Accountability Act. On May 30, 2002 the all-party Finance Committee was instructed by the House to conduct public consultations across British Columbia with respect to the 2003 Budget, and to report on the consultation process by November 15, 2002. During the fall, we held a series of meetings to fulfil our mandate, following the schedule contained in Appendix 1. On September 13, 2002 the Minister of Finance formally presented the Budget 2003 Consultation Paper to the Committee. After reviewing the results of the first quarter of the current fiscal year, Minister Gary Collins asked the Committee to seek public input on what changes British Columbians would make in the next two budgets, in terms of program priorities, within the overall spending targets set out in the government’s current three-year fiscal plan. He also wanted to hear the public’s views on what the government’s fiscal priorities should be in 2005/06, when a modest surplus is anticipated. To solicit public input, the Finance Committee decided to visit 13 different communities across the province. Between September 19 and October 17, 2002, we held public hearings in the following communities: Victoria and Campbell River on the Island; Vancouver, North Vancouver, Richmond and Abbotsford in the lower mainland; Kelowna and Kamloops in the interior; Kimberley and Nelson in the Kootenays; and Fort St. John, Prince George and Smithers in the north. The Committee also invited British Columbians who were unable to attend the hearings to submit written briefs by October 25, 2002. During the pre-budget consultation process, the Committee heard